We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Somya Dhiman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Somya below.

Somya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

Asking family and friends for support as a female artist is very difficult. My father’s support, for example, was financial only. The general assumption is either one isn’t smart enough to do anything else or the goal is to get married. The latter is generally applicable for South Asian women artist very frequently. Till the time my pictures were pretty (that is until I was in school) my aunt wanted to adorn her walls with them. I painted birds and flowers. But when I looked inside and saw the darkness and started to express myself accordingly, my work was take as “negatively and “depressing”. I was told to make more “positive” art. Going beyond the family, the burden of unrestrained and unsolicited advice lies on the shoulders of strangers, who having never set foot in a gallery or museum, share the most unique advice and comments. For instance, in two separate incidents two men, one an engineering professor and another a university account’s clerk, made the same remark that after doing a bachelor’s degree in fine arts women get married and hence it is a suitable career choice for them. After completing my degree, when people asked what was it that I painted and always wanted to see, it was moment of awkwardness for us. They didn’t get what they wanted to see, beautiful landscapes and portraits but dark and mucky paintings of human organs.
The unprecedented support by the family is given as an indulgence in whims and fancy of the artist because they love them and not because they understand what they are doing or even want to understand.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Art has always been a part of my life. My always embroidering on her singer machine. She not only made beautiful copies from oil paintings but also made bedcovers and cushion covers from flowers in oil paintings and watercolours. My mother who did a bachelors in painting never got to pursue it as a career or a hobby after marriage. I grew up copying from the books my grandmother used. I started with coloured pencils and moved to watercolours and acrylics. Later when I had more exposure in Delhi and then in the UK, my perception about what beauty is changed. It was difficult for me to break away from the conventional standards of beauty I was taught about in school, art school and society. Sometimes after making a piece of work, it would somehow not pass my own learned standards. Slowly, I started to recognise the issues which were more important to me. Questions about body and emotions from a female perspective were my areas of interest. My quest is to elucidate the connection between the physiological and the psychological through my work.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspects, I would say is, being a hand in bring a change in this society. Perhaps, we can’t be heralds of big changes but even just getting the conversation started about important issues is also enough. As an artist, I have to socially responsible for what I put out there for people consume. The most difficult and rewarding aspect is the truth I speak.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

A wide variety of sources make up this this. I admire the work of Margaret Atwood deeply. Bell Hooks’ “All about love” has been a constant companion for me. John Berger’s “Ways of seeing” and “Camera Lucida” by Roland Barthes has also been important. An array of writings by Susan Sontag have been eye opening. Sara Ahmed’s writings have been very provocative as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://somyadhimanart.wordpress.com/
• Instagram: @Somya dhiman art